{{Quote|The entrance to the marquee revealed rows and rows of fragile golden chairs set on either side of a long purple carpet. The supporting poles were entwined with white and gold flowers. [[Fred and George Weasley|Fred and George]] had fastened an enormous bunch of golden balloons over the exact point where [[William Weasley|Bill]] and [[Fleur Delacour|Fleur]] would shortly become husaaaaband and wife. Outside, butterflies and bees were hovering lazily over the grass and hedgerow|Description of the wedding area shortly before the ceremony|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}}

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{{Quote|The entrance to the marquee revealed rows and rows of fragile golden chairs set on either side of a long purple carpet. The supporting poles were entwined with white and gold flowers. [[Fred and George Weasley|Fred and George]] had fastened an enormous bunch of golden balloons over the exact point where [[William Weasley|Bill]] and [[Fleur Delacour|Fleur]] would shortly become husband and wife. Outside, butterflies and bees were hovering lazily over the grass and hedgerow|Description of the wedding area shortly before the ceremony|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}}

The '''wedding of [[William Weasley|William "Bill" Weasley]] and [[Fleur Delacour]]''' took place on [[1 August]], [[1997]] at Bill’s [[Weasley family|family]] home of [[the Burrow]] in [[Devon]], [[England]]. The bride and groom’s younger sisters, [[Gabrielle Delacour]] and [[Ginevra Weasley|Ginny Weasley]], served as [[bridesmaid]]s, and Bill's younger brother [[Charles Weasley|Charlie]] served as the best man. <ref name="DH6"/> The reception was interrupted by the news that [[Tom Riddle|Lord Voldemort]] had [[Fall of the Ministry of Magic|taken over]] the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]], and guests fled as [[Death Eaters]] [[Attack at the Burrow|arrived]].

The '''wedding of [[William Weasley|William "Bill" Weasley]] and [[Fleur Delacour]]''' took place on [[1 August]], [[1997]] at Bill’s [[Weasley family|family]] home of [[the Burrow]] in [[Devon]], [[England]]. The bride and groom’s younger sisters, [[Gabrielle Delacour]] and [[Ginevra Weasley|Ginny Weasley]], served as [[bridesmaid]]s, and Bill's younger brother [[Charles Weasley|Charlie]] served as the best man. <ref name="DH6"/> The reception was interrupted by the news that [[Tom Riddle|Lord Voldemort]] had [[Fall of the Ministry of Magic|taken over]] the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]], and guests fled as [[Death Eaters]] [[Attack at the Burrow|arrived]].

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===Engagement===

===Engagement===

[[File:Billprom.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[William Weasley|Bill]] and [[Fleur Delacour|Fleur]] during their engagement.]]

[[File:Billprom.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[William Weasley|Bill]] and [[Fleur Delacour|Fleur]] during their engagement.]]

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{{Dialogue a-b-a|Molly|I just think tey’ve hurried into this engagement, that’s all!|Ron|They’ve known each other a year.|Well, that’s not very long! I know why it's happened, of course. It’s all this uncertainty with [[Tom Riddle|You-Know-Who]] coming back, people think they might be dead tomorrow, so they're rushing all sorts of decisions they'd normally take time over. It was the same [[First Wizarding War|last time he was powerful]], people eloping left, right, and centre...|[[Molly Weasley]] on Bill and Fleur’s engagement|Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince}}

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{{Dialogue a-b-a|Molly|I just think they’ve hurried into this engagement, that’s all!|Ron|They’ve known each other a year.|Well, that’s not very long! I know why it's happened, of course. It’s all this uncertainty with [[Tom Riddle|You-Know-Who]] coming back, people think they might be dead tomorrow, so they're rushing all sorts of decisions they'd normally take time over. It was the same [[First Wizarding War|last time he was powerful]], people eloping left, right, and centre...|[[Molly Weasley]] on Bill and Fleur’s engagement|Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince}}

[[William Weasley|Bill Weasley]] and [[Fleur Delacour]] began dating in the summer of [[1995]], when they both worked at the [[London]] branch of [[Gringotts Wizarding Bank]]. Within a year, they were engaged, and Fleur spent the summer of [[1996]] with Bill’s [[Weasley family|family]] at [[the Burrow]]. The Weasleys were initially not very fond of Fleur, particularly [[Molly Weasley|Molly]] and [[Ginevra Weasley|Ginny]]. His mother, in addition to disliking Fleur’s blunt manner, thought that they were rushing into things because of the stress of the [[Second Wizarding War]]. Ginny considered Fleur a "cow," and wished that her older brother was interested in [[Nymphadora Tonks]] instead.

[[William Weasley|Bill Weasley]] and [[Fleur Delacour]] began dating in the summer of [[1995]], when they both worked at the [[London]] branch of [[Gringotts Wizarding Bank]]. Within a year, they were engaged, and Fleur spent the summer of [[1996]] with Bill’s [[Weasley family|family]] at [[the Burrow]]. The Weasleys were initially not very fond of Fleur, particularly [[Molly Weasley|Molly]] and [[Ginevra Weasley|Ginny]]. His mother, in addition to disliking Fleur’s blunt manner, thought that they were rushing into things because of the stress of the [[Second Wizarding War]]. Ginny considered Fleur a "cow," and wished that her older brother was interested in [[Nymphadora Tonks]] instead.

Revision as of 10:35, March 30, 2013

"Are you a wizard or not?"

The title of this article is conjectural. Although it is based on canonical information, the actual name is conjecture and may be supplanted at any time by additional information released from canonical sources. If this occurs, please move this page to the appropriate title.

"The entrance to the marquee revealed rows and rows of fragile golden chairs set on either side of a long purple carpet. The supporting poles were entwined with white and gold flowers. Fred and George had fastened an enormous bunch of golden balloons over the exact point where Bill and Fleur would shortly become husband and wife. Outside, butterflies and bees were hovering lazily over the grass and hedgerow"

Contents

Prelude to the wedding

Engagement

Molly: "Well, that’s not very long! I know why it's happened, of course. It’s all this uncertainty with You-Know-Who coming back, people think they might be dead tomorrow, so they're rushing all sorts of decisions they'd normally take time over. It was the same last time he was powerful, people eloping left, right, and centre..."

Wedding preparations

The wedding decorations.

Molly: "I’m so sorry to break up this cosy little gathering. I’m sure you all need your rest…but there are wedding presents stacked in my room that need sorting out and I was under the impression that you had agreed to help."

Hermione: "Oh yes, we will…we’re sorry…"

Ron: "It’s like being a house-elf. Except without the job satisfaction. The sooner this wedding’s over, the happier I’ll be."

The wedding preparations began in July and were particularly stressful, considering that Albus Dumbledore had only died shortly beforehand and that the Order of the Phoenix was using the Burrow as its headquarters. The Order also evacuatedHarry Potter from his relatives’ home on 27 July, leaving the Weasleys with little time to prepare the Burrow. Molly was also keen on trying to keep Harry, Ron, and Hermione separated, as she knew they were planning to go off on their own after the wedding and refusing to tell her that it was to hunt down and destroy Lord Voldemort’s Horcruxes. She had the trio working around the house as much as possible, and always apart.[1]

On the morning two days before the wedding, Fleur’s parents, Monsieur and Apolline Delacour, and her younger sister Gabrielle arrived at the Burrow, which Harry noted had never been so tidy. The rusty cauldrons and boots that were usually on the steps were replaced by Flutterby bushes, the chickens were shut away, and the garden had been pruned. The Burrow also had many security enchantments placed on it by the Order. The Delacours assisted in the final preparations for the wedding.[1]

Bill and Fleur's wedding began at three o'clock in the afternoon on 1 August. Fred, George, Ron, and Harry – disguised as a Weasley cousin by way of Polyjuice Potion and the red hair of a red-haired Muggle boy for security – greeted the guests outside the orchard as they arrived. They all had copies of the seating plan, in order to be able to show guests to the correct golden chair, on either side of the long purple carpet. Inside the marquee, placed there earlier by Millamant's Magic Marquees, were also gold and white flowers. Molly cried a little bit as Percy was the only one who refused to attend.

Fred led away some Veelacousins of the bride, leaving his twin with a “gaggle of middle-aged witches”, Ron with Perkins, and Harry with a “rather deaf old couple”. Harry then spoke to Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, newlyweds themselves, and to Xenophilius and Luna Lovegood. Ron escorted his Great-Aunt Muriel to her seat, and she insulted him – and many others – the entire way. The group was then met by Hermione who was remarked upon as looking very pretty, and the twins told stories about their late uncle Bilius, to everyone's entertainment.

George: "I wish old Uncle Bilius was still with us, though; he was a right laugh at weddings..."

Fred: "...before he went loopy he was the life and soul of the party. He used to down an entire bottle of firewhiskey, then run onto the dance floor, hoist up his robes, and start pulling bunches of flowers out of his –"

The group's laughter was interrupted by the arrival of Viktor Krum, who immediately complimented Hermione, much to Ron’s irritation. Harry quickly showed Krum to his seat, and then sat down in the second row with Ron and Hermione, behind the twins.[4]

Ceremony

Bill and Fleur in their wedding attire.

"Ladies and gentlemen. We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls…"

When the guests quieted and the music began, Bill and his best man, his brother Charlie, stood at the end of the aisle. Fleur’s bridesmaids, Gabrielle and Ginny, walked down the aisle in golden dresses. Escorted by her father, Fleur followed, wearing a simple white dress and Muriel's tiara, and looking radiant.

"“Do you, William Arthur, take Fleur Isabelle…?” In the front row, Mrs. Weasley and Madame Delacour were both sobbing quietly into scraps of lace. Trumpetlike sounds from the back of the marquee told everyone that Hagrid had taken out one of his own tablecloth-sized handkerchiefs. Hermione turned around and beamed at Harry; her eyes too were full of tears. “…then I declare you bonded for life.”"

As the couple began to take their vows, several guests began to cry, including Molly Weasley, Apolline Delacour, Rubeus Hagrid, and Hermione Granger. The wizard presiding over the ceremony waved his wand over the bride and groom’s heads, and a shower of stars fell upon their entwined fingers. Fred and George led the applause, and the golden balloons by the newlyweds burst into tiny golden bells and birds of paradise that flew around the tent, singing.[4]

Reception

The marquee during the reception.

"He had never been to a wedding before, so he could not judge how wizarding celebrations differed from Muggle ones, though he was pretty sure that the latter would not involve a wedding cake topped with two model phoenixes that took flight when the cake was cut, or bottles of champagne that floated unsupported through the crowd. As the evening drew in, and moths began to swoop under the canopy, now lit with floating golden lanterns, the revelry became more and more uncontained."

Once Bill and Fleur’s vows were complete, the chairs were magically removed from the tent, the walls of which were removed, so that the sunlit orchard and surrounding countryside could be seen. A dance floor was formed, along with tables, and waiters entered with trays of beverages and food as the band began to play music. While the newlyweds were surrounded by well-wishers, Ron led Harry and Hermione to Luna Lovegood’s table, partly to avoid Muriel and Viktor Krum.

People began to dance — including Luna by herself and Ginny with Lee Jordan — and Viktor soon came to sit near Hermione. Ron quickly asked her to dance, and she accepted, pleasantly surprised. When Viktor asked if the two were romantically involved, a disguised Harry replied “sort of”. Viktor then pointed out Xenophilius Lovegood and the symbol he wore around his neck, which Viktor identified as the sign of Dark WizardGellert Grindelwald. He then remarked that Ginny was pretty, and Harry, irritated, immediately claimed that she already had a big, jealous boyfriend.

As it grew darker, Harry overheard a conversation between Elphias Doge and his friend Ron's Aunt Muriel, in which the latter made disparaging remarks about the late Albus Dumbledore and his family. This marked the beginning of Harry’s suspicions about what his late mentor had failed to tell him about his past and about the mission he left him. Hermione soon joined Harry while Ron went in search of butterbeers for the three of them.[4]

Panic immediately erupted among the guests. Many began Disapparating as the protective enchantments around the Burrow broke. Death Eaters began Apparating into the crowd, Order members such as Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks began casting Shield Charms, and Harry and Hermione pushed through the mob of terrified guests to try to get to Ron. With Harry’s hand in hers and Ron’s on her free arm, Hermione Disapparated the three of them away to Tottenham Court Road, thus beginning their quest to find the Horcruxes.